Description
The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to award a sole source contract to Fisher Scientific Company LLC for the procurement of the Applied Biosystems Quant Studio 7 Pro Real-Time PCR System and associated accessories and service agreements. The system is required for the VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, and the contract will include a one-time purchase of the instrument and accessories, as well as four optional annual service agreement years. The system must meet specific requirements, including TAC block compatibility, Orbitor RS2 automation integration, and 21-filter multiplexing optics.
• The contract is for a commercial product, and the acquisition is being conducted in accordance with FAR Part 12.
• The system is proprietary and available only through the manufacturer or its authorized distributors.
• The Center of Excellence currently operates Thermo Fisher Scientific qPCR instruments, and transitioning to an alternate vendor system would require full re-validation of all existing assays.
• The contract schedule is structured as a base period plus four option years, with the base period covering the one-time purchase and the option periods covering annual preventive maintenance service.